Three more Iranian women’s football squad members return home after being granted asylum in Australia

Three more members of the Iranian women’s football squad have left Australia, leaving behind teammates who sought asylum after playing in the Women’s Asian Cup.

The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said on Sunday the three team members had decided to join the rest of the squad and make the journey back to Iran.

The decision means just three of the seven squad members will remain in Australia on specially granted protection visas.

“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Burke said in a statement.

“While the Australian government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions.”

Burke said the Australian government had done everything possible to make sure the women were provided with the chance for a safe future in Australia.

“Australians should be proud that it was in our country that these women experienced a nation presenting them with genuine choices and interacted with authorities seeking to help them,” he said.

At the same time as facilitating asylum requests for the players, the government rushed through new laws to stop some temporary visa holders coming to Australia and seeking to stay permanently because of the Middle East war.

The new laws can be used to prevent Iranian tourists from travelling to Australia if their visa was issued before the US and Israel attacked Tehran, and where there is a concern they might overstay their visa or apply for protection while in Australia.